Bookish Talk #3 - Longest read - Is it a content or length problem?

I have been wanting to do more discussion posts on here and I'm hoping to make this either a weekly or fortnightly thing. If you want to join in you can either do your own post on your blog (but please link back to here) and leave a link in the comments, or let us know what you think in the comments.



First off, I'm sorry I'm not around a lot lately. You'll notice I haven't done a Top Ten Tuesday post in a while, and I didn't do a Waiting on Wednesday post yesterday either. I nearly didn't do a discussion this week, but I really wanted to as I haven't been able to do much reading or blogging lately and I miss it and you as well! So I've taken a few minutes (ok, its takes me longer than that really) to do this post. Yay!

Secondly, life and uni are getting in the way. I don't know why this semester is such a pain, but I'm struggling to get through my uni work (time wise) because I'm so caught up with my son's sports, his friends, and my friends and family. I can't seem to find a balance between everything this semester. I'm trying to at least get a review and one other post (top ten, WoW or discussion) up each week until I get the major assessment pieces out of the way. I haven't been buying books lately (which considering I can't get around to reading right now, its probably a good thing!) so I won't have a Stacking The Shelves post for a while. 



As I said, I'm not getting much reading done, yet I have started a few books, and that plus the last Bookish Talk post talking about forcing yourself to read, it's made me think how long has it been since I've read some of the books I've started. Therefore this weeks topic is: 

What book took the longest for you read and do you think it was the content or the length that made it so?

For me I think it's more the content. Not that the content is difficult to understand or anything, more that if I'm not completely absorbed into the story, if it's not fascinating to me and doesn't hold my interest, then I'll tend to take longer to read it. I'll normally read a little at a time and read something else in between. 

At the moment the book I'm reading Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion is definitely the longest time I've taken to read a book. I started it on the 27th February and I'm only at 45%. I don't hate the book, and I do want to finish it. It's just not that interesting that I want to finish in NOW or in this case when I started it! lol. It only has 240 pages!

On the other hand, I started My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick when I borrowed it from the library and I really enjoyed it. I've since bought my own copy but I haven't picked it back up again. Not because I'm not enjoying it, it's that I have assessments to do and if I start it again I won't put it down. 

Length does not interfere with the time it takes me to read a book. The most recent books that come to mind are Insurgent at 525 pages, and The Darkest Minds at 496 pages. Both were read under 7 days (which is fairly average for me when I have uni work to do). 


So content is what holds me back on finishing books at a normal rate, not the length. What about you? If it's a long book do you take longer to read it or is it the content that holds you back? 

Mini Review Monday #3

I decided to start doing some mini reviews to allow me to tell you what I thought of a book, without the full review depth. The reason why I decided to do this is because some books have been out of a while and there are plenty of reviews on Goodreads if anyone wants further details, and the other is that some of the books I've read are actually novellas and I wouldn't be able to write full reviews on something that is generally under 100 or so pages. 
I'm not sure if this will be a weekly, fortnightly or monthly thing. More than likely it will be just when I need to so a short review. 

Title: Vampire Academy
Author: Richelle Mead Series: Vampire Academy #1
Published: August 16th 2007 
Publisher: Razorbill
Genre: Young Adult, Vampires, Fantasy


St. Vladimir’s Academy isn’t just any boarding school—it’s a hidden place where vampires are educated in the ways of magic and half-human teens train to protect them. Rose Hathaway is a Dhampir, a bodyguard for her best friend Lissa, a Moroi Vampire Princess. They’ve been on the run, but now they’re being dragged back to St. Vladimir’s—the very place where they’re most in danger...

Rose and Lissa become enmeshed in forbidden romance, the Academy’s ruthless social scene, and unspeakable nighttime rituals. But they must be careful lest the Strigoi—the world’s fiercest and most dangerous vampires—make Lissa one of them forever.



My Thoughts

Vampire Academy has been out for some time, and has a lot of 'followers'. I managed to get my hands on the whole series about over 1 year ago but near got around to reading. Lets be honest, the cover does nothing to motivate me to read it. I'm a huge cover lover and will buy books based on their covers. This series was one I purchased due to the reviews and people that rave about the series. With the movie coming out I thought now was a good time to mark it off my TBR (that I it's listed in my 2013 reading challenge!). 

I wasn't completely wrapped up in this book. It was a slowish start, and there were times that I just forced myself to read it just so I could get to the end. Don't get me wrong, there were parts that I loved and really enjoyed - those were the parts where something actually happened! Otherwise the book is just Rose going to class, Rose going to training, Rose "watching" Lissa through their bond, rinse and repeat, and add some mean girl business caused by Mia or Rose in between. 

The ending was more interesting with something other than the academy daily life involved and I liked the characters enough to read the next in the series. That said, I already have the rest of the series so I may as well read them, but I must admit I'm hoping Frostbite has some more momentum. 

★★★ Liked It

Review: Partials by Dan Wells

Title: Partials

Author: Dan Wells

Series: Partials Sequence, Book #1

Publication Date: 28th February 2012

Publisher: Balzer & Bray

Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction, Dystopia

Source: Library

Description

The human race is all but extinct after a war with Partials--engineered organic beings identical to humans--has decimated the population. Reduced to only tens of thousands by RM, a weaponized virus to which only a fraction of humanity is immune, the survivors in North America have huddled together on Long Island while the Partials have mysteriously retreated. The threat of the Partials is still imminent, but, worse, no baby has been born immune to RM in more than a decade. Our time is running out.

Kira, a sixteen-year-old medic-in-training, is on the front lines of this battle, seeing RM ravage the community while mandatory pregnancy laws have pushed what's left of humanity to the brink of civil war, and she's not content to stand by and watch. But as she makes a desperate decision to save the last of her race, she will find that the survival of humans and Partials alike rests in her attempts to uncover the connections between them--connections that humanity has forgotten, or perhaps never even knew were there.

Dan Wells, acclaimed author of "I Am Not a Serial Killer," takes readers on a pulsepounding journey into a world where the very concept of what it means to be human is in question--one where our humanity is both our greatest liability and our only hope for survival.- Goodreads

Review

Partials have taken over the earth. Originally developed to fight wars they now rule, but they have an expiration date. 

Humans haven't been able to keep babies born alive. Survivors are immune but newborns are not. 

I really liked this book, but it took me awhile to get into it. I found the beginning a little slow and Kira annoyed me. I didn't like her "why haven't you done this" attitude as if she is the only smart person alive. However, after the first, roughly, 25% Kira and some allies set out to find a cure for the RM virus, and this is where the story became more interesting, fast paced and action filled. It was during this latter half of the novel that Kira started to develop as a character, and in turn grow on me. 

Kira's boyfriend, Marcus, I'm still not sure about. One minute I'd like him, the next I didn't. He did have a few funny lines such as "well, thanks for not shooting anyone, I guess" said Marcus. "My contribution was to somehow refrain from peeing myself. You can thank me later." (p. 344). 

Samm is a partial and he is Kira's test subject. He was a favourite character, I absolutely loved him. 

I liked the world building in this. It was superb and feels believable. It adds to an interesting story. There is a surprise in the story (though I kind of guessed it) which adds a new angle. Despite the slow pace in the beginning, the last half definitely was better and made up for it. 

I can't wait to get into the second book, Fragments to see how this story progresses.

★★★★

Really Liked It

Author Bio

Source

Dan Wells is a thriller and science fiction writer. Born in Utah, he spent his early years reading and writing. He is he author of the Partials series (Partials, with the second book coming early 2013) and John Cleaver series (I Am Not a Serial Killer, Mr. Monster, and I Don't Want To Kill You). He has been nominated for both the Hugo and the Campbell Award, and has won two Parsec Awards for his podcast Writing Excuses. 

 Author Links

 Website

Goodreads

Facebook

Twitter

Waiting on Wednesday #47 - Split Second by Kasie West

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking The Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

Expected publication: February 11th 2014 

Publisher: HarperTeen

Life can change in a split second.

Addie hardly recognizes her life since her parents divorced. Her boyfriend used her. Her best friend betrayed her. She can’t believe this is the future she chose. On top of that, her ability is acting up. She’s always been able to Search the future when presented with a choice. Now she can manipulate and slow down time, too . . . but not without a price.

When Addie’s dad invites her to spend her winter break with him, she jumps at the chance to escape into the Norm world of Dallas, Texas. There she meets the handsome and achingly familiar Trevor. He’s a virtual stranger to her, so why does her heart do a funny flip every time she sees him? But after witnessing secrets that were supposed to stay hidden, Trevor quickly seems more suspicious of Addie than interested in her. And she has an inexplicable desire to change that.

Meanwhile, her best friend, Laila, has a secret of her own: she can restore Addie’s memories . . . once she learns how. But there are powerful people who don’t want to see this happen. Desperate, Laila tries to manipulate Connor, a brooding bad boy from school—but he seems to be the only boy in the Compound immune to her charms. And the only one who can help her.

As Addie and Laila frantically attempt to retrieve the lost memories, Addie must piece together a world she thought she knew before she loses the love she nearly forgot . . . and a future that could change everything.

I really enjoyed Pivot Point so I'm looking forward to seeing more of this story.

What's your Waiting on Wednesday pick this week?

Stacking The Shelves #54

Stacking The Shelves is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!

Thanks to the host Tynga's Reviews.

Purchased

The Georgia Nicolson series by Louise Rennison (books #2, #3, #4, #6, #7 & #8. #5 didn't arrive yet) I am a little peeved that "Luuurve" is a bigger size, and "On the bright side" has a completely different cover but I've since worked out that the cover I want is actually under a different title! More than a little peeved about that!


For Review

Tropical Depression by Arin Greenwood
Save The Enemy by Arin Greenwood
Thank you so much to Arin for sending me these two for review. I can't wait to get into them! You are amazing for sending these over to me! :)

Save the enemy is expected to be published November 12th 2013 by Soho Teen. 


That's it for me this week. These weeks are passing so fast. I feel like its still last Saturday and it doesn't help I haven't looked at my uni work this week. Argh! 
I hope you all had a great week. I'll try to get around to everyone this weekend to see what you all got! Happy reading!

Bookish Talk #2 - Forcing Yourself to Read

I have been wanting to do more discussion posts on here and I'm hoping to make this either a weekly or fortnightly thing. If you want to join in you can either do your own post on your blog (if you have one) and leave a link in the comments, or let us know what you think in the comments.

I was looking at the mountain of books that I own (physical books, not ebooks), actually I was planning on talking about the book that has been on my shelf the longest when I came to the realisation that I have many books that got added to my bookshelf a year ago when I started blogging but I haven't read yet. This got me thinking of why I haven't gotten around to reading these yet. ... Let me also mention that this isn't all that was added to my shelf, there were many adult fiction/fantasy books that I got but I haven't included. 

So, this weeks topic is: Do you force yourself to read, or just read what and when you want? 

Personally, I don't force myself to read a book if I'm not "feeling it" at the time. However I do have certain books that must be read by a certain time, namely review books, and I have a calender with the date the review is due to be posted. Of course these books then get priority over the books I buy, leaving them to pile up unread. As I'm not the fastest reader, and I'm studying Law and Business at University, on top of normal living and family commitments,  I have limited reading time, normally an hour or so before I go to sleep if it's not too late (I don't function well on small amounts of sleep). This normally means I read review books first, and if I get some time I'll read something off my shelves. 

Books I bought last year but still haven't read :(

Considering the amount of amazing books on my shelf (there are a lot more than this, one's that I've added this year. When I get another bookshelf and have some order to my books I'll take a photo of them all) it makes me wonder if I should stop requesting review books and focus on what I own. 
I was originally going to do that this year, but clearly I didn't as I have several review books I need to read, which are: 
Crown of Midnight by Sarah J Maas
Banish by Nicola Marsh
Not A Drop To Drink by Mindy McGinnis (I've read this, but I'll post my review closer to the release date - I loved it though!)
Parasite by Mira Grant
Scent of Magic by Maria Snyder
Blackout by Robison Wells
Tumble & Fall by Alexandra Coutts
This Song will Save Your Life by Leila Sales
Save The Enemy by Arin Greenwood
Needless to say these review books will probably see me reading through to October. 

I am a mood reader. I can't force myself to read anything as I'll get bored with it or I'll hate it. On top of that I see all the books I own and really want to read and I feel torn. I have currently started reading 6 books: 2 review books, 2 books that have been on my shelf for awhile and 2 books I just wanted to read at the time. None of them really took me away to a point that I didn't want to read anything else. In fact I had to stop myself from starting several others because I wanted to read them too. I want to read them all..... now... right now.... Lets face it, that's not really possible. :(

I want to read what I feel like, when I feel like it, but with review books I'm finding that it isn't really possible due to the time restraints and with uni study and assessments interfering with my reading time. haha. There are times when I really do need to force myself to read a book just because it is due for review soon. 


What about you? Do you get stuck with time limits and only reading things for review? Do you read as you want and don't worry about deadlines?  

Waiting on Wednesday #46 - Cress by Marissa Meyer

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking The Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

Expected publication: February 4th 2014 

Publisher: Feiwel and Friends

Rapunzel's tower is a satellite. She can't let down her hair - or her guard. 

In this third book in the bestselling Lunar Chronicles series, Cinder and Captain Thorne are fugitives on the run, with Scarlet and Wolf in tow. Together, they’re plotting to overthrow Queen Levana and her army. 

Their best hope lies with Cress, who has been trapped on a satellite since childhood with only her netscreens as company. All that screen time has made Cress an excellent hacker – unfortunately, she’s just received orders from Levana to track down Cinder and her handsome accomplice. 

When a daring rescue goes awry, the group is separated. Cress finally has her freedom, but it comes at a high price. Meanwhile, Queen Levana will let nothing stop her marriage to Emperor Kai. Cress, Scarlet, and Cinder may not have signed up to save the world, but they may be the only ones who can.

I can't wait for Cress. If you have been a follower of mine you'll know I'm a huge fan of this series. I just love it, and I need to know what's happening! 

A to Z survey

I've seen a few bloggers doing this survey and I'm a sucker for surveys. I thought it would be a great way to see this week out. 
This was created by the wonderful and clever Jamie @ The Perpetual Page Turner, so head over and check out her answers too!

Author you've read the most books from:

Patricia Cornwell, with Sophie Kinsella and Stephen King tied for second place. 

Best Sequel Ever:

Tied between Scarlet (Lunar Chronicles, #2) by Marissa Meyer & The Eternity Cure (Blood of Eden #2) by Julie Kagawa

Currently Reading:

Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead & Banish by Nicola Marsh

Drink of Choice While Reading:

Coffee or Water. 

E-reader or Physical Book?

Physical books, although I find my kindle (and Kindle app on my phone) to be more convenient.  

Fictional Character You Probably Would Have Actually Dated In High School:

Ah, I'm not sure. ..... 

Glad You Gave This Book A Chance:

The Harvesting by Melanie Karsak. I signed up for the blog tour last year on a whim and it turned into a favourite read for the year. 

Hidden Gem Book:

Flawed by Kate Avelynn

Important Moment in your Reading Life:

Discovering Goodreads. Without it I wouldn't have discovered book blogging, nor kept track of the books I own as well as I can now. 

Just Finished:

Angus, Thongs and Full-frontal Snogging by Louise Rennison

Kinds of Books You Won't Read:

Erotica.  

Longest Book You've Read:

The Witching Hour by Anne Rice at 1207 pages

Major book hangover because of:

If You Find Me by Emily Murdoch

Number of Bookcases You Own:

Not enough. I have one in the lounge that is full, and a small one that is full plus an old entertainment unit that our tv doesn't fit in that I have filled with books - which is why I need some, I need to replace the unit with a bookshelf. In all honesty I need at least 5 to cater for the amount of books I own so I can organise them somehow. 

One Book You Have Read Multiple Times:

I haven't re-read many (any) books other than To Kill A Mockingbird and I only re-read that once as I read it for school then years after school I wanted a copy and I read it again. 

Preferred Place To Read:

In my desk chair as I can turn and put my feet up on the sofa from there and recline. It's really comfortable and its near the front window so I get lots of light. 

Quote that inspires you/gives you all the feels from a book you've read:

“It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.” 
― J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Reading Regret:

I don't really regret anything, but I do wish I had read more in during my twenties.

Series You Started And Need To Finish(all books are out in series):

I haven't started many series where all the books are out. I do need to finish the Shopaholic series by Sophie Kinsella, and I've just read the first book in the Georgia Nicolson series which I now want to finish. I also need to finish the Sookie Stackhouse series and Rebecca Lim's Mercy series. 

Three of your All-Time Favorite Books:

Twenties Girl by Sophie Kinsella, The Hobbit by J R R Tolkien, and the Harry Potter Series. (Yes I know that's cheating. Oh well).

Unapologetic Fangirl For:

Sophie Kinsella, Brigid Kemmerer, Marissa Meyer and Melanie Karsak. 

Very Excited For This Release More Than All The Others:

Never Fade by Alexandra Bracken. I need to know what happens!!!

Worst Bookish Habit:

Starting too many books at once, and buying too many books before I get a chance to read them. 

X Marks The Spot: Start at the top left of your shelf and pick the 27th book:

Don't Turn Around by Michelle Gagnon

Your latest book purchase:

My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick & Shutdown (Glitch #3) by Heather Anastasiu

ZZZ-snatcher book (last book that kept you up WAY late):

Not a Drop to Drink by Mindy McGinnis

Stacking The Shelves #53

Stacking The Shelves is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!

Thanks to the host Tynga's Reviews.

Purchased

Shutdown by Heather Anastasiu - my review here

My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick

I have read the whole Glitch series but I didn't own them all yet, now I do!

I had borrowed My Life Next door from the library but I had to return it. I had started reading it and loved it so I ordered a copy as I knew it would be something I'd love on my bookshelf. 

That's all for me this week. Leave me a link so I can check out what you got this week, and happy reading!!

Bookish Talk #1 - TBR pile

I have been wanting to do more discussion posts on here and since I don't have anything to usually post on Thursdays it seemed fitting to start today. I'm hoping to make this either a weekly or fortnightly thing. If you want to join in you can either do your own post on your blog (if you have one) and leave a link in the comments, or let us know what you think in the comments.


I should be working on the uni assignment due tomorrow but I keep seeing my started pile of books and wanting to read them instead. So in honour of the TBR pile I have, today's topic is:


What books are you either currently 'in the middle of' reading, and/or have on hand to read soon. 

Well I have start a few recently. I wasn't really getting into any of them (not in the mood for them) so I just kept starting new ones. 

Right now I'm currently reading: 

Paperbacks:

Living Dead in Dallas -  page 20 

Warm Bodies - page 117

Banish - page 28

Vampire Academy - page 78

My Life Next Door - page 36 

Kindle:

Wait For You - 25%

Crown of Midnight - 3%

Under The Dome is one I wish to start soon. Preferably after I finish a few of the others!

I was reading My Life Next Door before I started 3 of these but it was a library book that I had to return. I have since ordered it and now I'm waiting for it to arrive so I can finish it. 

Crown of Midnight I started while my husband drove us out to dinner last night! 

Admittedly uni is taking up more of my time and I'm finding it harder to find time to read. I also feel like I'm forcing myself to read some books (namely ARC's) because they need to be read by a certain time....... but that's another topic, maybe. 

So, is anyone else as bad as this, or is it just me? Come on guys join in, I'd love to hear your answers! Also if you want to suggest topics you can send me an email or leave it in the comments. :)